Test pilot checkout

I took my neighbor, Ed, for a flight in the Gullwing last evening.  He is a test pilot for one of the local airplane companies.  He really enjoyed flying the Gullwing and put it through its paces.  He summed it up saying, "Awesome flight - great airplane."  I agree!  Ed is going to give me a ride in his Stearman biplane in return.  I now have 19 flights on the Gullwing, 18.9 hours, and have flown 15 passengers.  I have made 24 landings.

More Gullwing flyers

Matt and David dropped into Stearman Field on Friday morning in Matt's Vision Jet.  They had some time to kill so we went for a Gullwing ride.  I let David, who bought my Voyager a few years back, fly the flight from takeoff to landing.  He did a great job!  We parked next to the Vision Jet when we returned.  It was neat to compare top modes of personal travel 80 years apart.

David at the controls

David in front, Matt in back

Gullwing in foreground, Vision Jet behind

David (L) and Matt

Spring break flights

We had some really nice weather for the second half of spring break in Kansas. Temperatures got into the 90's even! Light winds made Gullwing flying a must. I took all of my grandkids for a ride on Wednesday. Conrad and Leland went first. The next flight had Emma, Amelia, and Nora. Everyone wanted a hand at the controls, so I would land, people would swap seats, and we went up again.  Everyone except Nora got to fly.  They all liked their first Gullwing flight.

Emma at the controls

Amelia flying

Conrad in front, Kristin and Leland in back

Emma in front, Nora and Amelia in back

Wax on....wax off

I have been waxing the Gullwing for the last week or so.  Not continuously...but almost daily.  The wing chord is so wide inboard that I could not reach all of it from the front or the back.  My friend Justin, who helped numerous times during the airplane restoration, came to the rescue.  He also brought his son, Layne.  They brought their forklift tractor, with a pallet attached.  The idea would be for me to lay on the pallet, and Justin would raise me up to where I could reach the unwaxed areas.  Layne would help relay commands between us.  It all worked well and we were finished in less than an hour.  Then it was time to go fly and see if this sled is any faster (it's not).  Layne and Justin were passenger number 6 and 7.  Layne flew most of the flight and did a very nice job!   

You can see the unwaxed portion in the middle spanwise

Good thing my life insurance is current...lol

An easy reach

Layne at the controls, Justin in back

Putting some polish on

I decided it would be a good idea to rub out the finish on the Gullwing and add some wax.  I washed the airplane Friday afternoon when temperatures got to 78 degrees!  With it clean, I started the rubbing and waxing process that evening.  It is supposed to be rainy the next week, so this will give me something to do. 

A clean Gullwing

You can see the difference already